The Wolf Inside
by Knewminex
Summary: When seven year-old Eragon gets bitten by a werewolf during one of his escapades to the forest, it changes his destiny, but is the change for good or for worse? Will Saphira even hatch for him? AU. Werewolf!Eragon
1. Prologue: Bitten

**A/N: This is my first FanFiction that I've ever written, so please tell me the areas in which I can improve. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, please no flames. I came up with this on a whim last night, I just decided to write this out of the blue last night, and this is the result. Some of you might recognize some aspects of other werewolf FanFictions, that is because this story is inspired by some of them. (WolfBlade, Inner Wolf and The Wolf and The Rider). All of the story is mine, however, there may be some similarities with the stories aforementioned, intentionally or not. Updates will probably be erratic, depending on how much time I have to dedicate to this story since I have to balance it out with doing schoolwork, so please do not** **expect consistent updates. I will try my best to update the story regularly. I have no expectations that this story will become popular, this is mostly just me writing for fun. If you liked the story, (and even if you didn't) please review and tell me where I can improve. Anyways, without further ado, welcome to the prologue of The Wolf Inside.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for original content. All characters (except for my own) belong to Christopher Paolini.**

Prologue: Bitten

-With Eragon-

"Come on Roran! Let's play hide and seek!"

It was a warm sunny day in Palancar Valley, and the two had just finished their chores for the day. Their uncle, Garrow, didn't assign many chores to them since there wasn't much to do around the farm, they only had to tend to the animals and wait for the crops to grow.

"Alright Eragon, I'll play hide and seek, calm down." Roran said, the way an adult might speak to a child.

"I'm hiding first! You count to sixty and then you can try to find me!" With that, Eragon turned around and sprinted towards the tree line, intending to hide in the forest. Roran, being the seeker, had already covered his eyes and hadn't realized where his cousin was running.

Sixty seconds later, young Eragon was hunkered down in the bushes in the forest. Roran shouted "Ready or not, here I come!"

Eragon's body was tense with anticipation. Caught up as he was, he did not hear the bushes behind him shuffling. Eragon was watching Roran wander off in the wrong direction when a twig snapped behind him.

Whirling around, Eragon saw the largest wolf he'd ever seen. Well, the only wolf he'd ever seen, but he'd heard stories whenever he went to Carvahall about wolves, and the wolves were never this big in the stories. The wolf in front of him had an all-black pelt, with glistening ivory fangs and claws. Its eyes were a yellow-gold, gleaming with light. Eragon tried to scramble to his feet, but to no avail. He was desperately trying to escape from the wolf, but the wolf kept walking forward despite the boy's struggles.

The wolf made an unintimidating rumbling noise in its throat, and the sound of it brought Eragon to a pause. _It hasn't done anything bad to me.._ thought Eragon. _Maybe it's a nice wolf?_ Eragon looked at the wolf, noticing it's lack of aggression. The wolf slowly padded up to Eragon and sniffed him, causing Eragon to flinch for a second, then relax as the wolf didn't do anything. Tentatively Eragon reached out a hand towards the wolf, intending to pet it. Suddenly there was a voice in Eragon's head. _It is time._ The wolf quickly snaked its head forward and bit Eragon on the arm. Eragon cried out, more from the shock of it than the pain. The wolf turned around and padded away.

 _Goodbye, young one. We will be seeing more of each other soon._ Eragon lost consciousness soon after.

-With Roran—

He had been searching for his younger cousin for a couple minutes when he heard a shout. It sounded like Eragon. Something must have happened to him if he forgot about the game. Eragon was usually very adamant about finishing a game, and very rarely cut them short. Heading in the direction of the shout, Roran was worried about his cousin. Despite the fact that he was annoying and childish at times, he still loved him like a brother.

"Eragon," Roran called out. "Where are you?" When he received no answer, Roran began to get more worried. Roran started calling out his name repeatedly and searching the underbrush of the tree line thoroughly. After twenty minutes of searching, he came across Eragon's limp form.

"Eragon!" Roran shouted.

Roran ran forward and grabbed his cousin, worry pouring from his eyes. Eragon was out cold, and he had no idea why. Roran knew he had to bring his cousin to the house, thankfully the house wasn't far away. Picking Eragon up, Roran draped him over a shoulder, one advantage of doing farm work all of his life, combined with the tiny frame of his seven year-old cousin made it easy for Roran to do.

When Roran got to the house he called for Garrow, his father. "Father! Come here, something's happened to Eragon!"

Garrow burst out the barn door, worry etched onto his face. "What happened?" inquired Garrow.

"I don't know, we were playing hide and seek and then I heard him shout so I went to look for him and I found him like this." Replied Roran.

"Bring him upstairs to his room and lay him on his bed, if he doesn't wake up soon I'll get Gertrude," ordered Garrow.

"Yes, Father."

-With Eragon—

Eragon's dreams were in turmoil, some of them blurry and senseless and others crystal clear and gruesome. One dream stood out from the rest. _Eragon woke up in a forest. It was night time, the full moon shining above him brightly like a white sun. He had no trouble seeing in the dark. He stared up at the sky for a few minutes in admiration. After his gaze returned to earth, he noticed the wolf that had bitten him._

 _"Hello, young one. I told you we'd be seeing each other again." Eragon narrowed his eyes at the wolf._

 _"Why did you bite me?" Eragon demanded._

 _"Ahh, straight to the point. I like that. You see, I am-was the last werewolf in Alagaësia. A werewolf can only pass on the blessing or curse, depending on how you see it- once, and when they do, they die. I have transferred the gift to you. You displayed signs of intelligence and courage. Most people would have panicked and wouldn't have seen what was right in front of them; all they'd see was a wolf looking to eat them. You are one of the few who see the truth. I believe you will change the fate of Alagaësia for the better, and I have been seeking release from that world for eons now.." the wolf trailed off._

 _"What do you mean, uh, werewolf? Is it like a werecat?" Eragon inquired._

 _"No-well, yes, but werewolves were much more powerful when we had others of our kind. Most people in Alagaësia nowadays haven't even heard of werewolves. We have been wiped from the face of history. All the races used to live in fear of us, in angering us, save the dragons, who considered us equals. Now, they scarcely think we exist. I had searched Alagaësia several times over in my lifetime, and I have concluded that I was the last werewolf, so I never had the chance to take a mate- I sincerely hope I was wrong and that I was not the last werewolf and that there is another one out there, for it is a lonely and solitary life to lead. But enough of my rambling. You have to grow your powers, grow comfortable in your body. When you have done that, you should aid the Varden in their struggles against King Galbatorix and the Empire. If you succeed in bringing the downfall of Galbatorix, our revenge as a race will be fulfilled. After that… you are free to live your life as you see fit. That is all we, the werewolves, ask of you, Eragon._

 __ **A/N: A short prologue, I know, but what prologue isn't? Besides, this is my first time writing and I should expect that it will be easier for me to make longer chapters with the more experience I garner.. anyways please do tell me the areas where I can improve my writing in a review, it would be much appreciated and would make my day/night.. To all of you readers (if I have any, lol), have a good day/night. *Edited on account of Shadowfuse's and Scarlett Barne's reviews. Thank you everyone for the feedback! [12/12/2017] **There is a poll on my profile asking your preferences on shorter chapters and quicker updates, or longer chapters and slower updates. Take your pick there, and let me know. Thanks!**

 **Discord invite code:** **72dExH8**


	2. I: Realization

**A/N: Well. I should probably wait for some more feedback before I start pumping out chapters, but I can't seem to stop.. so, I'll just keep on writing. I felt kind of mean for leaving you with like, a 1,400-word prologue, so I guess I'll just write this and hopefully it'll be a lot longer than the prologue. One can only hope however. Anyways, please review, I'd love to get some feedback, especially on the areas where I can improve my writing. I got more traffic on the prologue than I expected, so hopefully this will be sufficient for the time being. At the time of me writing this I'm sitting in the middle of French class.. I'm sure my teachers love me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance Cycle, or its characters. They belong to their rightful owner, Christopher Paolini.**

 **Guest Reviews: Mad Hatter: I though the other three were rushed too, except for TWATR. Thanks for the review.**

 **I: Realization**

* * *

-With Eragon-

Eragon shot up out of bed, instantly awake once he remembered the previous day's events. His eyes wandered to the place where he had been bitten the day before. There wasn't a single mark. Eragon, now convinced that prior days events was one elaborate dream. He got up out of bed, much calmer now. He went about his normal wake up routine, consisting of changing his clothes and walking down the stairs to the main room, where everything was clustered together. He scrounged around in the cabinets to get a few strips of dried meat for his breakfast. While he was eating his unsubstantial breakfast, Roran walked down the stairs, appearing to have just woken up, from the looks of his tousled hair.

"Hey, Roran." Eragon greeted him.

"Eragon, what happened yesterday," Roran questioned. "Why were you unconscious in the forest?"

Eragon's eyes widened. "Wait, so it wasn't a dream? That actually happened?"

"Yes Eragon, a minute or two after I finished counting I heard you cry out, so I went to look for you in the direction of the shout," Roran paused for a moment. "After around 20 minutes of searching, I found you, unconscious on the ground."

Eragon remained silent, processing that the prior day's events were not a dream. He subconsciously rubbed the arm that had been bitten, while wondering what he should tell his cousin.

"I-I don't really know what happened," Eragon mumbled just loud enough for his cousin to hear.

"Come on Eragon, you've got to have something better than that, what could possibly cause you to lose consciousness, without even leaving a mark?" Roran snapped.

"No, I-I don't remember... I just remember having weird dreams," Eragon mumbled back, trying to play the role of someone who has just lost their memory.

Roran cursed under his breath, a result of being raised by a farmer who had a rather colourful vocabulary. Roran stormed out the door a moment later, intending to look for his father. Eragon meanwhile, was still coming to terms with his dream of the wolf who bit him. _I never even got a name out of him. If I see him again I'll ask for his name. At least, I think it's a guy._ Eragon, being seven, tired of thinking on one subject quickly, and thought of something to pass the time. Before he could begin however, Garrow walked in through the door with Roran trailing behind him.

"Eragon, I need you to tell me what happened," Garrow demanded. "I need to know if I need to get Gertrude, in case you're ill. Are you feeling well?"

"Yes uncle, I'm feeling fine, better than I normally feel anyways," Eragon replied. Garrow narrowed his eyes at his nephew, taking in his form. His posture was straighter and altogether, it looked like he was telling the truth. Besides, Eragon was never any good at lying. He'd always give himself away.

"Alright, but if you do feel anything bad, let me know immediately so I can fetch Gertrude," Garrow ordered.

"Yes uncle," Eragon said.

* * *

It was a week since Eragon was bitten, and Eragon was just getting ready to go to bed. He changed into his clothes for the night, then laid down on his bed that was essentially a straw mattress with a light cloth covering. He stared at the ceiling for a long while, trying to sleep. He eventually sat up and turned his body so his legs were hanging off the side of his bed. _Why can't I just get to sleep? Well, if I can't get to sleep, I guess I should just do something to wear myself out._ Decided, he went down the stairs and put on his boots. Eragon walked to the door and opened it quietly, so as to not wake up anyone. He didn't feel like answering any questions that might arise why he was sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.

Despite it being near midnight, Eragon had no trouble seeing in the dark. He looked up at the moon that was almost directly overhead, and felt invigorated by it. Why, he knew not. He looked towards the Spine, a mountainous region that very few people dared venture to. He was always told by Garrow and his aunt Marian, when she was still alive, that the Spine was no place for children. Eragon was always adventurous, and had never liked rules. Eragon started walking towards the tree line that marked the beginning of the forest and the end of his uncle's farm.

Eragon was walking through the forest, following a game trail. His seven-year-old mind did not think about getting lost in the Spine. Suddenly, Eragon had a weird tingling feeling in his feet. He looked down. Everything looked normal. He resumed trudging down the game trail, shrugging off the feeling. A moment later the feeling intensified, and began spreading up his leg. This time, Eragon sat down on a nearby boulder and took off his boot.

Black fur was spreading across his thigh, spreading rapidly. Eragon reached out and touched the fur. It felt soft under his touch. Then the fact that he was growing fur registered in his head. Eragon screamed. The scream changed into a deep-throated howl as the transformation progressed.

Eragon's body straightened out and gained an animalistic form, bones reshaping and moving. His face extended into a muzzle, teeth sharpening to a point. His hands morphed into paws with sharp claws extending from each digit.

Eragon came to his senses after the transformation. He immediately noticed his head was lower to the ground than normal, and his legs felt short. Trying to turn his head, he also noticed his eyesight was much sharper than usual. His brain was unaccustomed to the inflow of smells coming from his nose. His hearing was much more sensitive, causing the first few sounds he'd heard to flinch from their volume.

Once Eragon was accustomed to his new body, he wanted to see what he looked like, but he couldn't turn his head far enough to view himself. _Guess I need a pond or river._ Eragon took a tentative step forward, going slow because of his unfamiliar body. The first step went without incident, causing him to gain confidence in his stride. Soon, Eragon was padding around as if he had been doing it his entire life.

Eragon began padding away in a random direction, hoping he was heading in the right direction. Not long after Eragon saw smoke rising in the air. _That must be the village. Well, I know where I am now._ Eragon turned to his right slightly, intending to head to Igualda Falls, as it was the nearest water source that wasn't in the village. Coincidentally, this brought him in the direction of his farm. However, there was no way he was going back to the farm while he was like _this._ He wanted to see if the effects would wear off. If they did, he hoped it would be some time soon. If not, he figured he'd have to get used to this. Trotting off towards Igualda Falls, he skirted around the edge of the farm as a precaution. Before long he reached Igualda Falls. He slowed once he reached the water's edge.

He made his way slowly to the water. Looking at his reflection, Eragon saw what he truly looked like for the first time. In Eragon's place stood a noble black-furred wolf, standing a foot-and-a-half in height, and nearly two metres in length from nose-tip to tail.

Eragon continued to stare at his reflection in the water for a good ten minutes or so, when he noticed the sun was just starting to rise. Eragon turned around and started to pad off in the direction of his farm. He hoped he would change back into his human form before Garrow and Roran woke up. That is, if he still had a human form.

He was nearly at his farm before he felt that now-familiar tingling in his paws. Looking down, he saw his paws slowly morphing into human hands. Eragon sighed in relief. Well, as close to a sigh as a wolf will ever get to it. Before long, Eragon was standing on his own two feet again. The only thing was, Eragon was naked. When he noticed this, he cursed internally and started running back to the farm, ignoring the sharp sticks and rocks that stabbed into his foot.

Eragon had made it back into his room without incident. He closed the door behind him, but he misjudged his strength and it slammed shut, splintering the doorframe. He stared open-mouthed at the door, then switched his gaze to his arms. _How in the blazes did I do that?_

-With Roran-

Roran was sleeping peacefully in his bed, when suddenly he was jolted from his sleep by an extremely loud bang. The sound came from Eragon's room, which was right next to his. _What in the name of the Riders has he done now?_ Roran got out of bed and stormed to Eragon's room, quite angry at being awoken in such a manner.

"Eragon, what the hell was that?" Roran near-yelled. A startled yelp came from behind the door.

"Uh, well, I stubbed my toe.. on the door.. yeah," Eragon stuttered. Roran just gaped in disbelief.

"Eragon, that sounded like you _ran_ into the door then fell down, as opposed to stubbing your toe," Roran replied, disbelieving of his cousin's excuse.

"Well, I may have uhh, hit my head, yes. I hit my head. On the floor. Yes, that's what happened. I stubbed my toe, then I fell over and hit my head on the floor," Eragon tried.

"You're loaded with horse dung, you know that right Eragon?"

"Can you just leave me alone? Please? It won't happen again," Eragon pleaded.

"Fine, I swear though Eragon, if this keeps up," Roran left the threat hanging in the air, not really knowing what to say. After that, Roran marched back to his room and went back to bed. It was for naught however, since he couldn't get back to sleep. It was already dawn. Resigned, he sighed and put on his clothes for the day.

-With Eragon-

Eragon sighed in relief once Roran gave up on interrogating him, opting instead to go back to his room. Eragon wasn't really scared by his cousin's threat, since he knew Roran wouldn't hit him. Nor could he threaten to take something of his, since Eragon had no valued possessions. With that, Eragon went back into bed in hopes to get some sleep. He had shut his eyes, but soon after he heard Roran rummaging around in his room. Eragon just hoped that he'd be able to get to sleep before he had to get up. He felt extremely tired. Thankfully for Eragon, he managed to get to sleep.

-With Garrow-

It had nearly been dawn, when he had been abruptly woken by a loud slam. Garrow decided to stay in bed and listen in to whatever transpired. There was another door opening, and then footsteps going down the hall, towards Eragon's room. There was Roran, asking Eragon what the noise was. The conversation that ensued was rather brief, but made Garrow suspicious of Eragon. _Why is he even up this early? He's normally the last one to get up._ Garrow decided to go back to bed, after vowing to himself that he would get an answer out of Eragon.

-With Eragon—

Eragon woke up after a few hours of sleep, probably because his cousin was shaking his shoulder and telling him start helping with the chores. Eragon, after a few minutes of Roran shaking him to get up, got out of bed and started dressing for the day. Eragon went about his chores like it was any other day, however inside his mind a war was waging; _do I tell my family about this, or do I not?_ He was grateful for the physical work to take his mind off the subject, but it always returned. While he was doing his chores, he noticed that all his tasks that required strength were much easier. Too easy, in fact. It wouldn't do to go around flaunting this new strength of his. He was sure it was a side effect of this transformation. _How many other side effects are there?_

After his chores, Eragon wasn't even tired. He tried to cover it up as well as he could, however he wasn't sure how well his charades would play out. _I still have to decide whether I tell them about this new development,_ Eragon thought. _That can wait another day, when I have all, if not most of the details. It won't do any good to tell them about this and then have no answers for them._

One thing Eragon was sure of though; his life had just changed forever, and he was unsure of how it would unfold before him.

* * *

 **A/N: I received a lot of feedback on the prologue, which was unexpected. I know, this took me a couple of days to write and I apologize however, I can't dedicate all my time to this as much as I would like to. I have to balance it out with school and my other studies, and whenever I do have time to dedicate to this I usually do. However, progress is slow going with my condition (ADD, also known as Attention Deficit Disorder). Some days I just can't get any words down on the paper, others not so much. It will impede progress, but I will try and push through it. Again, apologies for the delay. Please review so I know where to improve my writing. Also, there is a poll on my profile regarding your preferences on longer chapters or shorter chapters, please vote. Last thing, Next chapter is (**PROBABLY**) going to be the chapter where Eragon finds Saphira's egg, and I want you, the viewers, to decide whether Saphira will hatch for Eragon or not. I've never been good at decisions like this, and frankly I feel some things should be decided by the viewers.**

 **Knewminex out. o7**

 **Discord invite code:** **72dExH8**


	3. II: Hunting

**A/N: Okay. So, this is the last chapter I will post before Saphira hatches, I am still waiting on more feedback on whether Saphira should hatch for Eragon or not. If I don't get more feedback regarding that I may delay updates until I get enough to decide on whether I should or not. Now, by no means am I saying that you should review just to vote on this, though that would be appreciated, this message here is mostly for everyone who reviews but does not mention their preferences regarding whom Saphira hatches. Also, if you review, if you could please tell me whether you prefer longer chapters with longer update times, shorter chapters with shorter update times, or a mix of both. Anyways, enough of that, and on to the guest reviews.**

 **Mad Hatter: Thanks, and the point of view changes were a one-time thing on that chapter, so you can expect less POV switches moving forward. There will still be POV switches, but there should be less moving forward. As for changing the timing when Saphira's egg hatches, I don't see how I could do it earlier, particularly because Arya transports the egg right before Durza captures her, and by then Faölin and Glenwing are already dead, shot by the Urgal archers. Oh, and as for Eragon going to the Varden as soon as possible, that may be changing a bit... I'm still waiting on people's preferences on whether Saphira should hatch for Eragon, which will ultimately affect the story. I have ideas for both paths, but they're both still underdeveloped. Anyways... enough of this long reply. Thanks for the review.**

 **Soren: Thanks for the review, I was aiming for something like that.**

 **Guest (1): Thanks.**

 **Guest (2): Thanks, I try to update the story (somewhat) regularly, however it's hit-or-miss, since I have ADD. I'm only just starting chapter two (12/18/2017) right now.**

 **As a final note, multiple people are mentioning Eragon's maturity last chapter. I have replied to them in a PM, but figured I should put it in this A/N to clear things up for new readers. Eragon's maturity is a side-effect of the bite, as well as being raised on a farm where it was necessary to mature quickly. They would've been taught practical concepts and techniques, as opposed to the modern day, where children are generally carefree.**

 **Ok, this is the end of this note, I swear. I'm constantly surprised how quickly a small introduction turns into an essay.**

* * *

II: Hunting

It was seven years since Eragon had first transformed, and he had since learned how to transform at will; all he had to do was focus on that tingling feeling that happened every full moon. His family still hadn't found out, and he had decided that he wouldn't tell them. They had no use for the knowledge anyways. It would just strain relationships. Eragon, being fourteen now, was trekking through the spine on one of his hunting trips. He carried his bow with him, a quiver and his pack filled with his bed roll, some strips of dried meat, and his camping supplies. He had been tracking a doe with a limp. It wouldn't last long in the wild anyways; predators always went for the weakest. Eragon knew this, and decided to beat wolves and other predators to the punch.

Eragon had been closing in on the doe much faster than would've been possible, had he been a human. With his increased senses, even in human form, it made tracking the doe much easier. He didn't even need the tracks, he just followed the smell of the herd, for the most part. He had been in the Spine for a day since catching on to the doe's tracks. He knew that when he caught up to the herd, he'd have to take it slow on the way back home, otherwise his family might get suspicious where he was getting the deer from- and he had no good excuse for that. Eragon smelt the air for a moment, then correcting his course, began jogging forward at a pace that he could sustain all day, and longer if needed.

The sun was shining directly overhead, sunlight being filtered through the treetops, and Eragon had just caught up to the herd. The doe he was going after was residing on the edge of the herd, making it an easy target for predators, Eragon included. Slowly, so as to not make much sound, Eragon reached around and pulled his bow off of his back, where it was strung. He drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it to the bowstring. Drawing back, he held the arrow between his index and middle fingers. He lined up the arrow with the doe, accounting for wind speed and distance. Eragon released the arrow, and the arrow flew true, straight into the doe's head. Years of practice allowed him to do this nearly every time. The herd wasn't even aware of the loss in their ranks. Eragon slowly approached the doe's limp form.

As he did this, the herd noticed the presence of an unknown creature, and bolted. Eragon picked up the doe's body and started to haul it off. Before long, he had managed to drag it back to his campsite, which he had located just outside the glade where the herd had been residing in. He began to search around for kindling he could use for the fire, spotting some thin branches lying on the forest floor. He walked over to them and picked them up, as well as some dry leaves and a couple of larger branches. Eragon walked over to the charred remains of his last fire, and brushed the coals aside with his free hand. After that he began to arrange the sticks and leaves in a suitable arrangement. Eragon patted his pants for his flint, then noticed it lying near his bedroll. He walked over to it and grabbed it, then unsheathed his knife. He began to strike the two together over the kindling to get a spark. After a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts, he got a spark and the campfire lit.

Eragon used the rest of the day to skin and butcher the doe. After he was done, he rolled up the hides and placed them in his pack; no sense abandoning them here, they could go to good use, either by being sold to someone in Carvahall, most probably the tanner, Gedric, or by being used as makeshift crafting material around the farm. After he was finished stuffing the hides into his pack, he laid out his bedroll and laid down on top of it. He stared up at the treetops, feeling restless. He knew this feeling. It was his inner wolf telling him something was wrong. He also knew he'd never get to sleep while feeling like this. Sighing, he quickly picked himself up off the ground and grabbed his bow. No sense going around unarmed when feeling like this.

Eragon quietly left the campsite and patrolled the perimeter of his general location; he knew something had to be around, otherwise he wouldn't have been feeling this way. Eragon looked up at the moon that was just visible through the leaves. It was a crescent, nowhere near to being a full moon. Sighing, Eragon had finished circling his campsite's perimeters a few times, and had found nothing. He still felt uneasy, so decided to expand his area to search. Eragon began another round, then paused when he came to the glade where the herd had previously occupied. His feeling of unease had intensified upon reaching the glade. Tightening his grip on the bow and nocking an arrow to the string, he began to search the clearing. Eragon searched everywhere in the glade, but came up with nothing.

"I swear, this is the _last_ time I'm searching here," Eragon muttered. He continued to search the underbrush, when an explosion rang out behind him. Eragon was flung forward by the force of the explosion, causing him to flip over a few times upon landing. Luckily for him, his clothes didn't catch fire due to him landing on his back, which would've caught fire had it not been snuffed out. Picking himself up off of the ground, he grabbed his bow that had landed next to him, as well as the arrow that had been nocked. He spun around, the arrow nocked, ready to shoot at whatever had caused the explosion. Eragon had not smelt anything before the explosion occurred, nor had he sensed anything with his mind. Now, all he could smell was the smell of burning. Now however, he felt a presence with his mind where the explosion seemed to have been centered. Drawing back the arrow, Eragon could not see his target, as it was obscured by smoke.

"Come out of the smoke, and I won't shoot," Eragon called out.

Nothing moved, save for the smoke that was slowly swirling and dissipating. Eragon could still sense the being with his mind, so he knew whatever it was he sensed was still there.

"Last time, come out, or I _will_ shoot!" Eragon shouted.

Still, nothing moved.

"Do you think I'm daft?" Eragon questioned, then fired at the smoke where he thought the being was located. The arrow flew through the air, causing a small amount of smoke to part wherever it passed through. Eragon heard a _chink_ , then saw the arrow fly off into the distance, apparently having ricocheted off of whatever he hit. Eragon just stared there, dumbfounded. Very few were the things that his arrows would ricochet off of. Even solid stone his arrows would not reflect, they usually just made a dead stop. Drawing his knife, Eragon took a step forward.

"Show yourself!" Eragon thundered.

Nothing moved. By now, the smoke had cleared enough that he could see the center of the explosion, albeit unclearly. Eragon, still wary, reached out with his mind to the center of the explosion. The presence was still there. Peering further into the smoke, Eragon saw a hint of blue.

 _Rare colour, in the wild,_ Eragon thought. Eragon also knew that there hadn't been anything blue there before the explosion; he was just searching there. Eragon tentatively took a step forward, clutching the knife in his hand. Eragon waited for the smoke to clear out a little bit more, all the while watching the center of the explosion.

The smoke gradually cleared out, revealing an oblong blue object that resembled a stone. However, he was sure this was no ordinary stone; he could sense it with his mind, as well as it being perfectly smooth and rounded. No one took the effort to polish a stone to this length without the stone being _very_ valuable. Eragon hesitantly took a step forward, ready to spring at any moment. When nothing moved, he relaxed a bit, but still tense. Eragon took another step forward, his curiosity overcoming his wariness. His eyes were fixed on the stone. Eragon was now close enough to touch it. Carefully, Eragon tapped it with his knife. When nothing happened, he gained enough confidence to pick it up with his hands. As soon as Eragon's hands touched the stone, he cursed and pulled his hand away. The stone was still hot.

 _Stupid me, overlooking the obvious. Hell, the ground is smoldering around it, why the hell_ wouldn't _it be hot?_ Eragon mentally berated himself. This time, Eragon flipped it over by digging his knife in under it, in an attempt to cool down the rest of it that was lodged in the ground. Heat radiated from the stone, making Eragon's fingers a bit uncomfortable, however it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. Eragon carefully observed the surface of the stone. It was primarily blue, but there were veins of white webbing across the surface, in no particular pattern. There was no sign of the arrow that he was sure hit it, not even a chip. Eragon figured that the best way for the stone to cool off was to douse it in water, so he dumped the contents of his water skin on top of the stone. Steam arose when water met the stone, accompanied by a sizzling sound. It didn't last for long, but it was enough to bring the stone's temperature down significantly. Eragon touched the stone lightly, going slow enough to be able to tell if it was still too hot. As Eragon's hand went near the stone, he felt heat radiating off of the stone, but not an unbearable amount. The distance between his hand and the stone closed, and the heat was still bearable.

Eragon picked up the egg soon after. It felt lighter than it should have, but Eragon thought that was just his advanced strength playing tricks on him. Moving his hands along the stone, it felt very soft, in a sturdy way. Its surface belied its strength, he was sure. After all, it did reflect one of his arrows, without the slightest scratch. Eragon hoisted it up and began walking back to his campsite; he would think about what to do with it later.

* * *

It was the next day and Eragon was trekking through the forest , on his way back to the farm. While he had been jogging back, he had also been thinking on the matter of the stone that exploded behind him the night before. He knew that whatever the stone was, it was valuable. He also knew that it was magical. There was no other explanation for it. There was still a consciousness inside the stone, and Eragon hadn't a clue as to why, or how. He knew when he got home he'd have a bit of explaining to do.

* * *

Eragon began to see more and more familiar regions of the forest, and it was with this that caused him to know that he was close to his farm. That, and the fact that he could smell it. Approaching the tree line now, Eragon slowed down to a walking pace. It was late in the afternoon, and he was in no hurry now. The door to the barn opened, and Roran walked out. Roran was about to start walking over to the house, but he glimpsed a figure walking towards him coming from the tree line. Squinting, he recognized it as Eragon, appearing to have returned from the hunt. If he was successful, he was unsure.

"Father!" Roran shouted.

Not long after, Garrow walked out of the house with a questioning expression on his face. He noticed Roran looking at something off in the distance, and followed his gaze. Garrow saw the figure slowly walking towards them, and after a few seconds of squinting, was also able to identify the character as Eragon.

"I see him, Roran," Garrow told his son.

"Do you think he was successful? He's back pretty early," inquired Roran.

"Well, let's wait and see, shall we?"

Slowly, Eragon made his way to the pair, seeing no need to rush. Before long he was standing in front of them.

"Well, you two, what are you waiting for? I can tell you want to ask me something," Eragon stated.

"Did you catch anything?" Roran questioned.

"Yes, Roran, I did. I told you already, I won't come back without a catch."

"But, so soon? How did you manage that?" Garrow put in.

"The herd was closer than I thought, and moving slowly," Eragon replied smoothly.

"Well, drop off the meat so we can start preserving it; we'll need it for winter. You can drop off the hide in the barn too. We can sell that next time we go to Carvahall," Garrow ordered.

Nodding, Eragon moved to drop off the hides in the barn, then went into the house where they would start preserving the meat. After that, he went upstairs to his room and put the stone on his bed. He still wasn't sure what to do about the stone. Something told him to keep it, another told him to sell it to one of the traders that came by every winter. Eragon stayed there, studying and admiring the egg for another hour or so before Roran walked into his room.

"What's that?" he questioned.

"Oh, it's just some stone I found when I was out hunting," Eragon replied.

"That doesn't look like a stone to me."

"Well, what else am I supposed to call it, Roran?" Eragon said, exasperated.

"Good point there, I suppose. But still, that's no normal stone. Where'd you find it?" Roran inquired.

"In the spine."

Roran just sighed, then turned to face the door and left. Once Roran left, Eragon put the stone under his bed. Eragon reached out with his mind towards the stone one last time, and felt it stir.

* * *

 **A/N: Ok, so please don't murder me for taking almost a month to update this.. I have a perfectly valid reason. I think. If receiving the entire series of a Song of Ice and Fire on Christmas, and then having to watch the entire Game of Thrones series counts as a valid reason, there it is. If not, well.. my non-existent dog ate my rough draft. In all seriousness though, sorry for the late chapter. I seem to get more progress done in school than on break, so I guess you can expect quicker updates after the break is over (which is really soon, by the way). Please review, it helps me to improve my writing, and it means a ton to me. Also, you can join the Discord if you want to contact me or just chat. I'm always up for a chat.**

 **Invite code:** **72dExH8**

 **Knewminex out**


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